Henry b



(No Model.)

H. B.LYTLE. APPARATUS FOR THREADING WIRE THROUGH TUBES.

Patenked Mar.6,18 83.

' Inventor.

H ab 7 UNITED- STATES {PATENT Fries.

HENRY B. LYTLE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, Assienon TO THE, A ER-IoAN-ELEGTRIQAL wonKs, or PROVIDENCE, R. I.

APPARATUS FORTH-READING WIRES THROUGH TUBES.

,srnorrzcxrron formingpart of Letters rat nt'lme'raees, dated. March a, 1883.

7 Application filed November 20, 1882. (No model.) I

To all wkom it may concern cord having an iron preceding piece; and to Be it k'nownthat I, HENRY B. LYTLE', of draw the same throughby the attraction of a Bostomin the county of Suffolk andState of strong magnet, which for that purpose has Massachusetts,haveinventedcertainImprovebeen drawn along the outside of the tube. ments in Apparatus for Threading Wire This-methodhascertaindisadvantages,among 55 'Throngh Pipes, of which the following is a which are thefactsthat the magnetfrequently specification. j y j a loses its hold uponthe iron inside the tube, My invention relates to .amethod and ap-. necessitating repetitions-oflabor,and alsothat paratus for drawing rope-s, cards, or wires when this method is employed an iron tube 10 through long pipes or tubes, and .is .particucannot be used, as it would serve asascreen 6o larly adapted for use in connection with the and keep the magnetism from exerting any proteetivetubiug of electrical cables and conpower upon the work to be done. Wires'have doctors, or in systems of subterranean pipes also beeudrawn through long tubes by attach- V for-electricalconducting-wires. Its object is ing an approximately air-tight traveler to a 15 to. provide aeheap and convenient but thorcord,inserting it in the tube, and eausing itto 6 voughlyefficient meansfor effecting the passage travel through by pneumatic pressure, either of the wires through lpng sections of tubing, by exhausting the air in front ofv it or comfor facilitating the manufacture of electrical pressing the air in its rear, while another plan cables or single wires when I protected by an. is to arrange in asystem of underground tele .20 envelope of leaden tubing, and forv drawing raphya'. conduitfor the reception of the wires, 70

cords or strings throughpipes ortubes of any having two compartments, united longitudicharacter andforany purpose whatsoever and nally hyaslitextending between them throughto this end' my invention consists in a hollow out the entire length of the conduit. A motor rod slotted longitudinally and provided at one traizels in the upper coihpartment, and by,

p 25 endjwith a pair of spring-clutchesa sleeve means of the slit draws behind it a trailing sliding longitudinally thereon and normally cord connected with acablein'the lower. My maintained at that end of the rod'which is 'uninvention, however, 'unlikeithe above, does not provided with the clutches bya stiif spiral rend-er necessary expensive and complicated spring. "The sleeve is also provided with apparatus; neither does it necessitate peculiar o clutches or pawls, and is fastened to one end. construction, as in theiatter'oase; but it is in- So of-a cord wbichextends through. the hollow expensivedn itself, is easily manipulated, and rod, passes roun d a pulley, and returns tothe can be readily applied toan-y system of itubin g end at which the sliding sleeve is-uornially 10-. or conduits, whether composed of lead,'iron,' cated, from whence itissues, and may be 'ot} or other metal,- or of unglazedearthenware.

35 .au'y'desired length, the entire apparatus bewInthe drawings which accompanyand form 35 ing an instrument-which, placed within .a tube a part of this specification Figure 1 shows a to which its clutches are in size adapted, will, section of tubing with the traveling instrument p when the-cord is pulled andthespring there just inserted thereimand before any force is .by compressed, advance by successive leaps exerted thereon. Fig. 2 is a section through 0" through the tube, each pull of the cord result- .both tube and traveler, showing the position 9c lug in a corresponding advance of the instrw of the latter with its spring compressed and ment, which thus progresses from one end of hinder claws or clutches advanced, while the s V the said tube to the other. {It is obvious that. force is being'applied as a pull upon the cord..- aseoond cord may be fastened to theperma; Fig. 3 shows the position of the traveler'as- 4 5 neatly-attached cord of the instrument, and a' sinned in the tube upoh the release of the cord. 9 5 wire orwire's, as may berequired, thus drawn Fig.- 4. is a section on the line a a of Fig. 1', through, irrespective of the length of the tube. showing an end view of thehead 0 ofthe trav- In preparing lead-covered cables it has hereeler and its clutches dd. Fig. 5 is a section tofore beeueustomary to insert first into the on the lines: in, Fig. 6.01: the line 1 g, and

5a laden tube thoend of an iron "wire, or of a Fig. 7 on the line 3 z, of Fig 1.. :oc

' tllge sleeve and to admit its being freely slid. fnom one end to the other of ,and are pivoted to the sleeve, as clearlyshown glnthe cross-section, Fig. 6, and in the views,

. tbroughthe pawl-exteusions,( pverlap one another for that p 'th gough the shell of the sleeve D and through ow rod. A pair of lcaf-spri The material I have employed in the construction of the traveling instrument has been brass, although any other hard metal or' alloy in common use may be equally well applied thereto.

A metal tube, E,-of any desired length, and of an outside diameter to be determined by the diameter of the tube to be operated upon, has rigidly aflixed to one end thereof a head, (J, of the same material, which is mortised or slotted out, as shown at s in the longitudinal section, Fig. 2, and in cross-section at Fig. 5. A metal sleeve, 1), slides loosely upon the tube or tubular rod, and is maintained thereon by devices which are hereinafter described. It is also maintained normally at or near that end of thetube E which is opposite to the head 0 by means of a stiff helical spring, 9, which presses against the shoulder ofboth the head 0 and the sleeve D. Passing through the slot or mortise s in the head 0 and the metaljaws forming the sides of the said slot is a pi n,f, on which runs asmall pulley, k,- andnearer to the point, and also passing through the sides and space of the same slot, are two other pins, e e, on each of which is loosely pivoted a pawl or clutch, d, the points of the pawls d being uniformly extended outward, and so maintained by a fiat spring or springs, j, fixed between them, and pressing both outwardly and oppositely. The sleeve D is also provided with two claws, clutches, or pawls, b I). These, however, are lighter, are made of sheet metal,

Figs. 1 and 3, by semicircular extensions a-a, these being loosely pivoted, so as to admit of free movement on a pivotal pin, 0, passing the ends ofwhich nrposc,) andalso the hollow rod E. To allow the passage of the hollow rod, as; also to prevent the sleeve from being de-" tached from it a long slot-.n, is out through the hollow rod 1'], and in itthe pivot-pin 0 passes when the sleeve D moves .over the holngs, l hare-soldered byone'end to the substance of the sleeve, and their free ends extend behind the semicircular pawls, asshown in Figs. 1,2, 3, 6, and 7 and press the points of the said pawls outwardly. A cord, 1', is firmly fastened to the pin 0, to which the sleeve-pawls are pivoted, is passed through the length of the'rod E, round the pulley k at the front end thereof, and back through the hollow rod E, issuing'from the hindermost thereof, and extending any desired length. 1

1n the operation ot' the device which is the subjcctof'my invention the traveler is caused toinake successive and progressive springs or leaps through a tube, and to haul after it a cord or wire, by which other wires, or, in fact anything which is desired, may be drawn tube; but the "pend-in bothdirections,

through. Its manipulation, to that end, is as follows: The instrument, constructed as I have described with reference to the size of tube-through which it is to pass, is'inserted-in the said tube, and immediately thereafter pre sents in section the ap 'iearance shown in Fig. l. The cord i, extending from the rear end of the instrument, is now pulled, with the result as hereinafter described. Unopposed, the effect would be to pull the traveler from the pivoted pa-wis or clutches d, attached to the head- 0, oppose such action, and having normallyatendency to extend outwardly, the first pull on the cord brings that tendency into operation, and causes the clutches to impinge upon the interior surface of the tube, an'd, it' the said tube is of soft or comparatively soft material, even to. dig into and penetrate the substance of its walls. This action is depicted in Fig. 2. The main body of the traveler is bythis action prevented from responding to the impulse of the pulled cord by withdrawing itself-froin the tube, and the necessary consequence is that, the tension on the cord tcontinuing, the sleeve to which its inner end is attached, after passing over the pulley k, is forced inward, being gradually drawn up against the constant force exerted by the spiral spring and such is the condition represented in; Fig.2, the pawls 11 being embedded in the iigvalls of the tube A, the sleeve D drawn uptoapoin-t much nearer the head (-3 thaw-that at which it is normally maintained, and 'the helicalspzing g correspondingly compressodbetween the head 0 and the sleeve D,

The pulling fores en the cord iis now' no'longer applied; The'spring'g resumes by its own re- 's'iliency its normal. position and length, and

in noing so causes the entire instrument to fly forward, becansefalthough the natural impulse of the spr ng-when compressed, is to exthe binder clamps or pawlsb'now come into play. They, being forced outwardly bythesprings Z, anchor the sleeve Din the advanced position, to which itvvas brought by the'force exerted to pull the'cord, the'points of the said pawls or claws bimpinging'upon and in somercases entering the substances of the internal surface of the tube to be explored. The pawls d of the head or front end, having nothing to oppose their forward motion, are released from their hold on the tube A, and the traveler is thus impelled forward by the expansion of the'helical spring. The length of each leap is on'ly'limited bvthe length and elasticity of the spring g and the initial force exerted on the cord i In the application of such a traveler to pipes or tubes of hard material I substitute for the sharp-pointed claws or clutches d d and b b claws with broad surfaces, milled or corrugated in a manner similar to thc'jaws of a vise.

It is obvious that my invention can be applied not only as a pioneer in the introduction of wires or cords into pipes in the manufacture of lead-covered cables, so called, but is equally well adapted to thread wires through pipes in systems of underground electrical couductors, or to convey or thread any desired cord, wire, or cognate article through any system of tubing whatsoever. It is also evident that when one wire orcord is threaded through a tube any number of similar wires may be attached thereto and so hauled through, the great problem being 'to thread the initial-wire or cord, which I accomplish by my invention with appa-ratus'ot' the simplest and cheapest character.

I claini- 1. A threading-instrument consisting of a rod provided at its front end with detaining claws or pawls, a sleeve sliding thereon, also furnished with detaining-claws, a helical impelliug-spring surrounding the rod and nor- -1nally expanded between the headthereof and the movable sleeve, and means whereby the said spring may be compressed and adapted to urge forward the threading-instrument, substantially as and for-the purposes described.

2. In a pipe-threading instrument, the combination of an impelling-spriu'g, means, sub stantially as described, for compressing and energizing the said spring from a point in its rear, a tubular rod containing the said compressing devices, and surrounded by the i|npelling-spring, and retaining devices consisting of pivoted claws at each end of the impelling'sprin g, adapted to he pressed'cutwardly bytlat springs, whereby the instrument is preventedfrom retrogradingeitherduringtheccmpression or recoil of the impelling-spring, as I specified.

3. Thecombination,in an instrumeutadapted for traveling through or threading-tubes or pipes, of a hollow rod, an impelling-spriug attached thereto,'a sleeve sliding on the same rod, means, substantially as described, whereby a power or force externally located may advance the said sleeve and compress the impeL ling-spring, claws or clutch-es upon the main mm-adapted to prevent retrograde movement during the advance of the sleeve, and other claws or clutches on the sleeve adapted to an chor the same, whereby the spring is allowed to expand only in a forward direction.

4. The combination, with a tube or pipe designed for the reception of a wire or wires, of

a threader therefor, consistingof an impellin gspring, a main stem or rod, a sleeve attached to said main stem and sliding thereon, a cord or its equivalent fixed to said sleeve, passing over a pulley attached to the said main rod Witnesses i J. H. 'CHEEVER, D. E. RICHARDS. 

